A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



this date is said to be on one of the rainwater heads7 

 At that time the property was owned by the Glascock 

 family.' The building is of three stories and has an 

 imposing front of nine bays. The centre projects 

 slightly and is surmounted by a pediment. The porch, 

 which may be a later addition, is of the Roman Doric 

 order and is supported on four columns. Above the 

 doorway is a round-headed niche. The house was 

 evidently altered late in the i8th century when the in- 

 terior was remodelled. The hall has a Venetian arch en- 

 riched with plaster ornament and behind this is a fine 

 double staircase. The staircase window is round-headed 

 and fitted with painted glass. These alterations were 

 probably carried out for William Dolby, who succeeded 

 his brother Charles as owner of Brizes in 1781.' In 

 1788 William Dolby employed Richard Woods, who 

 in 1 77 1 had carried out ornamental alterations to the 

 gardens at Myles's (see below) to replan those of 

 Brizes. The plan made by Woods still exists.'" It 

 included 'an alcove seat or temple', 'the truss Paladian 

 bridge', plantations of oak, chestnut, pine, and elm 

 and other features, covering 74 acres. Most of these 

 features were adopted." 



By the i6th century there were probably a number 

 of other houses around the common in the south of the 

 parish. One of these, Dodd's Farm to the south of 

 Church Lane, is of much the same date as Hatch Farm. 

 It is an L-shaped building, timber-framed and plastered. 

 There are two large external chimneys of a similar type 

 to those at Hatch Farm, and in this case the short octa- 

 gonal shafts are original. Internally there is said to be 

 a fireplace of the 1 6th century.'^ 



Poor's Cottages," which date from the 17th century, 

 were also built at the common, which suggests that by 

 that time the common was the most important centre 

 of population in the parish. By 1777 there were many 

 houses round the common and also a windmill. ■■» The 

 mill was in use until the First World War but was 

 demolished about rgi6 as it was thought to be a land- 

 mark for Zeppelins. '5 It was a weather-boarded smock 

 mill. The mill house still exists, on the east side of the 

 main road nearly opposite the 'Eagle'. It is a single- 

 story cottage dating from the mid-i 9th century. During 

 the 1 8th century Kelvedon Hall, Myles's, and Brizes 

 were all rebuilt as imposing Georgian mansions and 

 the medieval parish church was also rebuilt. 



The building of houses at the common had been 

 facilitated by small inclosures made there, and no 

 doubt also by the existence of common rights. The 

 inclosures seem to have been carried out by purely 

 local arrangement, through the manor courts. Examples 

 of such inclosures occur in the case of Poor's Cottages 

 (see above) in the 17th century and again in 1786.'* 

 By 1838 the common was wholly in private ownership, 

 though perhaps not physically inclosed. '^ 



During the 19th century there was further building 

 at the common. The village school and post-office were 

 both set up there. When the railway from London 

 through Brentwood to Colchester and East Anglia was 



7 Inf. from Hon. Simon Rodney. 



8 The descent given by Morant, Essex, 

 i, 187, can be supplemented and corrected 

 from deeds in E.R.O., D/DRo Ti. 



9 E.R.O., D/DRo Ti. Charles Dolby, 

 who had succeeded his father Charles 

 Dolby in 1755, was an ensign in the ser- 

 vice of the East India Company. 



>o E.R.O., D/DRo Pi. 



" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet lix. 



" Hist. Men. Com. Essex, ii, 143. 



built in the 1 840's the road between Ongar and Brent- 

 wood took on a new importance and this probably 

 increased the concentration at the common, through 

 which the road ran. In 1893 a new parish church was 

 built in the village and the old church beside Kelvedon 

 Hall became disused. Other igth-century buildings 

 were Mushroom Hall, the Church House, and a non- 

 conformist mission hall (now the village hall).' ' Mush- 

 room Hall is a single-story house in the 'picturesque' 

 style of the early 19th century. It lies about 100 yds. 

 east of the main road near the mill house. 



Building at the common has continued in the 20th 

 century. On the east side of the main road opposite 

 Brizes are two rows of single-story terrace houses 

 known as The Thorns and The Briars. These and 

 The Avenue, a similar block on the road to Dodding- 

 hurst, were built early in the century. There are ten 

 pairs of council houses on the north side of Church 

 Lane. A red-brick police house was completed in 1953. 

 Some new bungalows are now being built to the south 

 of School Lane. 



The population of the parish was 297 in 181 1. It 

 rose steadily to 502 in 1 851 but subsequently declined 

 to 361 in 1901." Since then it has again increased, to 

 542 in 1931 and 557 in 1951.^0 



Until recent times communications between Kelve- 

 don Hatch and the outside world were poor. In 

 particular there seems to have been no good road to 

 Brentwood^' until the 19th century. It is now a class 

 A road, although still very narrow in places. In the 

 Ongar direction the present main road was altered be- 

 tween 1777 and 1800." This eliminated a right-angle 

 turn to the west of the present road. Part of the exist- 

 ing drive to Myles's follows the line of the old road. 

 After the opening of Brentwood railway station coaches 

 running to the station from Ongar passed through 

 Kelvedon Hatch. Today there is a good bus service 

 to Brentwood and a choice of two routes to Ongar. 



The most direct road to Ongar crosses the Roding 

 by Langford Bridge. In 1351 it was said that John 

 Pekkebrigge, lord of Kelvedon Hatch, and his tenants 

 in High Ongar were to repair the bridge. ^3 It is not 

 clear who Pekkebrigge was and what was his manor. 

 The nearest manor to Langford Bridge was Myles's 

 and there is no other evidence that Pekkebrigge was 

 lord of this. He may, however, have been a lessee. He 

 was probably identical with John Peghbrigg (1356) 

 whose park is thought to have given its name to Park 

 Wood in Kelvedon Hatch, which is not far south of 

 the bridge.^'t In 1570 the owners of the lands adjoin- 

 ing the bridge, Mr. Wood on one side and George 

 Preston and Thomas .\uger on the other, were held re- 

 sponsible for its repair. ^5 j^i 1582 the bridge was said to 

 be in ruins. Kelvedon Hatch parish was to pay part of 

 the cost of repair, but it was not known if Chipping 

 Ongar should pay the other part.^* Uncertainty as to 

 the responsibility for repair continued until about 1673- 

 4 when it was said to be a charge on the county." In 

 1773 the bridge was again in need of repair. It was 



^3 See Charities, below. 



'< Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 

 I'jyy, sheet xvii. 



>5 Inf. from Mr. J. P. Fitch. 



'^ See Charities. 



" E.R.O., D/CT 197; cf. 0.5. 6 in. 

 Map (ist edn.), sheet Hx. 



'8 For Church House see below, Church, 

 and for the mission hall see Protestant 

 Nonconformity. 



■» y.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 



'** Census, 1911-51. 



" Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 

 1777, sheet xvii. 



" Ibid.;E.R.O., D/DFaP6. 



" Public fforis in Med. La-w (Selden 

 See), i, 99. 



2< P.N. Essex, 59. 



" E.R.O., Q/SR 32/17. 



»' Ibid. 81/25. 



" E.R.O., Q/CP3 p. 39, ii+i e/SR 

 426/33. 



64 



